The Ouija Board

Is the popular Ouija board merely a game, or is it a Trojan horse into the world of the occult?

I was in Target the other night strolling down the action figure aisle with my kids when I heard the usual sounds one hears when in the toy section — begging. A little boy was pleading with his mother to buy the newest game. “But, Mom,” he beseeched, “It’s so cool and it glows in the dark and it’s just a game. Please, please, please, please!!!” The mother looked at the $22.99 Ouija board with skepticism drawn on her face, then shrugged and placed it into her cart, most likely to stop the begging.

Did the mother really understand what she was buying for her young son, and what she was letting into her house?

Jan Markell, a friend of Lamb & Lion Ministries and host of the Olive Tree Ministries‘ Understanding the Times conferences, has released a revealing article titled “Playtime for Kids and It’s Called Divination.” This article like a spotlight exposes the occultic shadows behind the Ouija board — touted as a child’s game — using her very own personal experiences as a diviner of the Ouija board.

Jan’s warning is reproduced with her permission below. Please note the strong message to Christians in the last paragraph.

Playtime for Kids and It’s Called Divination

I am no longer shocked by issues like what I am about to report. Our kids and teens have been seduced for decades. Harry Potter hasn’t helped nor has Twilight. Both kids and adults have been introduced to the paranormal in dozens of TV programs and movies. So much so, in fact, that the paranormal is the new normal.

So now ToysRUs has a cute little pink Ouija board and one that glows in the dark, both marketed for children. They advertise that kids as young as 8 need to have these new sorcery objects! (Well, they don’t call them “sorcery objects” but the Bible does.) I know it is billed as a “toy” but I have enough personal experience that I can tell you it is blatant divination.

The Bible speaks extensively about “divination” and “sorcery.” Entire civilizations have been wiped out because of sorcery. Those perpetrating this are aiming at younger kids every day. Serious reproach against witchcraft and divination is given in Deuteronomy 18:9-15.

Are Christian parents going to say that this new kids’ Ouija board is “just a game,” just like they say Harry Potter and Twilight are “just fiction” and can’t hurt anyone? You can bet some will!

Let me tell you my personal ordeal with a Ouija board.

I was 23 years old. (I know that was back in the Bronze Age, but divination hasn’t changed.) I was addicted to a Ouija board. I had people driving 100 miles to put their hands on the glass object, ask the board questions, and have it spell out answers. I was so good at it that the glass object could move with no hands on it.

It made predictions and many of them came true. It instilled power in me that was stunning. The glass object that spelled out words would often spin around the board in a frenzy, and it was always talking about dark, evil things. All predictions were negative. It scared many participants. It has supernatural power, but since it is of the devil, not all predictions came true because the devil does not know the future.

When I asked the board where it got its power, it spelled S-A-T-A-N.

One evening I put the board away and felt a presence in my apartment. I did not want to open my eyes because I knew I would see a demon.

If you think I am doing this for sensationalism, I can tell you that it has not been easy reliving my experience. I do it only to spare some of you from my mistakes.

I had roots in a solid church in my teenage years and I sensed I had crossed a line. I seriously repented, took the board and glass object out to a bonfire and forever said good-bye to its evil. That was in accordance with Acts 19 which says that those who practiced magic gathered up their instruments and burned them.

Sadly, I had obtained almost a lust for the paranormal from the Ouija board and that is why most participants then move to deeper and darker occultic practices. The Ouija board is stepping stone number one.

“But isn’t this just a game like Monopoly?” you ask. Going back to my personal experience — the glass object was profane, cursed God, and sometimes flew off the board in a rage. Evil spirits were present to be sure. So no, it’s not just like Monopoly. This is playing with FIRE.

If anyone you know, child or adult, is playing with this force of evil, warn them. March on over to ToysRUs and register a complaint.

There are many websites that speak of people getting obsessed/addicted to this so-called game. Others say this was the start of their paranormal journey. Sadly, most toy stores will put profits before protecting children, but speak up nonetheless.

This is just another sign of the times and of the lateness of the hour. In these last days, evil will wax worse and worse. That is why we as believers are called to be salt and light in a dark world. If a Christian feels they can dabble in darkness and still be “light,” they are seriously deceived.

I can say amen to this warning. As a young girl, and already a Christian from a young age, I was not warned that the Spirit of God is not the spirit behind spiritism. When I found out, by 'chance', I had already had some very frightening experiences and didn't realise where they came from.

I was shocked, so prayed for help. One day there was a knock at the door; there stood a very tall, kindly elderly man with white hair.He said something like 'God has sent me'; I found myself pouring my heart out,and he waited while I fetched the book that had said ouija and spiritism was of satan. He merely glanced at it and very quietly nodded in agreement of its lethal dangers.

I never did find out what he wanted, then as now, I did all the talking. My parents saw his outline through the dimpled glass. He turned and left, within seconds I ran after him to ask him in for a cuppa with my parents. There was no sign of him anywhere and absolutely nowhere to hide.

Asking around none of our neighbours had seen this dear man, no one knew who he was? All I can say is that my heart burned within me and I never went near the ouja again. Was he an angel? I like to think so, but I can't be certain as he was so normal. If my parents hadn't seen his reflection I would have thought I had had a dream. Angel or not, I know he was sent of God to confirm to me of serious the dangers of the ouja, spiritism and the 'stars'.

All my life, I have been used of The Lord as a 'watchman' against error and the occult in the lives of unwary Christians.EI

there are some things that are clearly destructive and others that i wanna say OH CMON! ouja boards are xtremely dangerous. several years ago a 17 yr old friend of mine with some others asked just one question on the board and suddenly a chilling strong wind blew (the windows were shut) all the candles went out and some of them had horrible nightmares. i heard of other stories as well

that being said, i would hardly compare a ouiga board to a harry potter movie. i enjoy those movies tho i wouldnt allow a kid to see it, nor would i recommend it to a person weak in their faith or who`s been involved in witchcraft. but for a mature christian i`d say its alright. a ouja board however is very dangerous

Sine satan is an imitator of our Lord I wondered if this was an imitation of the Ephod? I realize it was a vest but still I wondered if there were similarities we don't know about. Great post. My family has always kept away.

I've never actually messed with one of those things (even though I did have one. I didn't buy it, I found it.) But I have heard some creepy stories about those things. Stuff like what Jan Markell talked about.

I think the reason Satan aims these things at children (including The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter) is because they are so impressionable. And since the church (a large part anyway) discounts the "supernatural", parents just buy this garbage without knowing what is actually going on.

I'll be willing to bet that if that was a Christian mother in someplace like Africa, that kid would have never asked for it: they don't discount the supernatural.

When I was a young girl, I had a friend that had the board and like a dummy I pronounced it Oh-jay… and said I would play it. While playing it, I realized it was what I heard my dad talking about. I asked her to ask where the power came from and it spelled satan. I told her that she better get rid of that board! NOW… just a week ago I had a question that goes along this line. How can Christians and Yoga mix? Yoga is founded in Buddism. Any comments? I have heard them say, oh it is only an exercise. Really?

When I was a kid we found one of these boards in my Grandmother's house. How it got there I have no idea. (I think a cousin brought it over). Anyway, we used to "play around" with it. I'm not sure we knew what it was or what it was supposed to do. But I think we may have asked questions, it's hard to remember. So what happended? NOTHING! The thing didn't move unless we pushed it. It didn't spell anything. It was very uneventful.

So I sure don't understand all these odd stories. However, I sure as heck wouldn't want one in my house or would mess around with one. That's my instinctive feeling on it based on it's reputation, it's description and purpose.

As far as Harry Potter goes, I don't have that same instinctive feeling as I do with the game. I don't see the danger. I know a lot of Christian friends with kids who have read Harry Potter and seen the movies and they are not running around like little witches making spells. I grew up with Bewitched on TV and I never became a warlock.

I think books, TV shows and movies (like Harry Potter, Bewitched, etc.), for a well grounded Christian child, are just innocent entertainment. Maybe for the child in the secular or new age they may have a different influence.

Dump the Ouija boards but keep the Harry Potter and Bewitched dvds. (My view, right or wrong).

Thank you for the link on the yoga question. I think that will be useful. I don't think Christains realize the witness they are giving by practicing yoga to the non believers… that is confusing to them.

On one other note that was just posted about Bewitched and Harry Potter etc… how is it that Satan drops our guards? If he brought us the heavy Satanic movies right from the beginning we would have said, NO WAY… but if you start with some innocent funny little cute woman saying she is a witch with a bit of comedy, well that is okay, then we move to a little deeper level and on and on until we are where we are today. The same goes with sex in movies, if what we see today was put on the movie screens at the beginning it would have been a revolt…but we started with a romantic kiss… then years later, twin beds, then laying in the same bed, and now look what we have. It makes you think how sly the devil is to break down our guard against keeping our minds pure. Just a thought.

We ran a series of articles last September on Yoga if you're interested in reading more.

It's interesting how shows/movies dealing with witchcraft tend to have a lot of disasters. For example, both Bewitched and the Poltergeist movies were filled with freak accidents and tragedies for the actors.

I was surprised with your stance on the Harry Potter books, Billy. I've also read all the Harry Potter books as well and found them fun and entertaining. Still, I'd never let me kids read them until they were fully grounded in the faith. Too true that they can and are a lure into the occult for some.

Oh no, Billy, I meant you've always taken such a strong position against anything that may be even the slightest questionable that it surprised me you read Harry Potter. But, your reasons why make sense.

Thank you for whoever "Anonymous" is. It seems this is the only person who realizes that we are to touch no unclean thing. When we compromise and engage things that Scripture strictly forbids (Deut 18), we compromise our own discernment and, worse yet, our Christian witness. The more we train, or dumb down, our discernment through engaging ungodly cultural behaviors, the more we expose ourselves to falling away. As I mentioned in the other post, pure and undefiled religion is keeping onself unspotted from the world. James 1:27

Hey Billy, don't think that I haven't thought about that… living in a town named Salem. :^) But thankfully they don't burn people at the stake here… I am in Oregon. You are safe coming to visit any time in our beautiful city.

My comment about the movies has brought some interesting comments. It seems to go that if you think the kids are well grounded, that they won't be affected. Very interesting. I know of Christian kids that were very well grounded that have turned totally away from the Lord. It can and does happen. I hope that we don't compromise in an area that could lead some down the wrong path. What are we feeding the minds of our youth? I have grandkids that are just approaching the preteen & teen years and it scares me that they go to church and yet think nothing of watching something or playing games that have satanic overtones.

I hope that I am being a faithful watch(woman) over my family. C~ in Salem

I tend to agree with mom4truth and C~ in Salem. Ever since I learned that so many children raised in families that go to church, walk away from their faith after high school (80% last time I heard), I no longer take it for granted that kids in these grounded, Christian families are "safe". For instance, as a family, we've chosen not to celebrate Halloween. I don't judge those that do, but for me, I just can't see how my witness wouldn't be affected if I was seen running my kids around the neighborhood on such a holiday. And not only my witness to others, but especially to my children. I don't know how I could tell my children that Satan is evil, murder is wrong, ghosts are a trick of Satan, etc, but then make merry on a holiday that glorifies all that. How confusing it must be for them. And if not confusing, then definitely desensitizing.

I have to say Nathan, I was a little surprised in your statement about reading the Harry Potter books. So, perhaps that kind of proves a point…what we chose to engage in (movies, books, tv shows, activities, etc) can surprise people (Christian or not), so it really does matter what we do and how it may affect our witness and standing in others' eyes. And I'm not saying I'm perfect, by no means! I struggle with things that I use to think were okay, but now I'm not so sure, like certain TV shows, types of movies, etc. I've had it happen to me in the past when I did certain things and then it came back to haunt me when I tried to be a witness. Satan loves to give the lost such things to use in their arsenal, by throwing a Christian's witness in their face by calling them a hypocrite.

I by no means want to be accused of legalism. I just want to be wise so that my words and actions glorify God and that I never bring shame to Him. I think that was the point C~ in Salem was making…it's all about desensitizing people until these things are seen as "just for fun" and "harmless". I don't know, maybe I'm off, but I know this feels right to me based on how God has convicted my heart on the subject.

1st of all ~R, if the lost are looking for arsenal to throw in the face of a witness then you`re casting pearl before swine with that person. he has no interest anyway. 2nd in regard to harry potter movies, if a nonchristian is going to go to one and be decieved, its better if a MATURE christian goes with to prevent him from being decieved rather than the non christian going alone. 3rd, some should NOT see harry potter, some it would be o.k while others could actually be a light there. ouigi boards however, are very dangerous. thats not just entertainment but its actually practicing witchcraft.

Phil.4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

I cannot see how absorbing stories about witches, ghosts, vampires and their ilk fit’s in with Phil.4:8. It isn’t what we say, but what we do that is to be our witness for Jesus. A little bit of voodoo, a little bit of spiritism, or black magic, or porn or any other thing will not separate us from the love of God – but it is being entertained by His enemies antics that is akin to Israel’s adultery with other god’s that grieved the Lord so deeply.

Where our lives lack His blessing may be because we are grieving, and in time will quench, The Holy Spirit. We are called to be different from the world, not join in with its ways such as methods of entertainment. Although we are IN the world, we are not OF the world. Repentance, on-going, is the way back from being prodigals into the arms of a waiting Father ready to rejoice at our obedience and to re-clothe us in new garments of fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints.EI

You all know that Lord of the Rings was written by a Christian, right? Good friend of C.S. Lewis.

My original purpose in reading the Harry Potter books was to be able to have an informed opinion of them when discussing witchcraft. If I was to keep away from knowing what's evil on Earth I'd have to stop reading the daily news! 🙂

My Aunt had three children who were raised in a strict Christian home without any of these "unclean" influences in their lives. They were strict church goers and the Christian way of life was the focus all the time.

Well, lets see…two of the kids grew up to become atheists and the third blew his mind on LSD.

Now, in my family there were three boys. We rarely ever went to church, never prayed at meals, weren't all Christian in everything we did all the time. Though we did know Jesus and did celebrate Christian holidays. All three of us grew up to be very strong believers in Christ.

So…it DOES NOT matter the environment one grows up in. All you can do is lay the foundation and in the end it really will be up to the individual to ultimately determine the strength or lack of their Christian faith.

NathanGod gives His gifts severally as He wills. To some He anoints to be able to go into enemy territory in order to combat the enemy when dealing with people caught up in the Cults. I worked with this type of ministry, so I agree certain teachers do need to gain a degree of this knowledge. BUT it is not for general consumption and I cannot personally recommend anyone disobeying God’s Word to ‘come apart, and allow something into their lives for which they have no equipping. In my experience, sooner or later, it will have an adverse, spiritual, affect. Rebellion (sin of witchcraft) is always at the top of the list. The very fact that it is seen as harmless is the indicator that shows a person IS infected; they have been deceived.

I consider that those with this genuine ‘gift’ of discernment do know to keep that knowledge close to their chest, certainly not do or say anything to cause others to think its harmless. Former witch, Doreen Irving ‘From Witchcraft to Christ,’ assured me that she would share certain details only with those whom God had so gifted, even then with reserve and caution. She said she would not glorify the devil by publicly witnessing of his evil deeds. Where is there a NT example where the disciples became involved with an understanding of the occult just to learn to help others? They were to have no conversation with the spirits, just cast them out in Jesus name (He knows all there is to know). ‘They’ cannot be trusted and will speak 99.9% of the truth to poison a life.

If anyone thinks Harry Potter is harmless fun, they are sorely mistaken. The periphery of the occult is still the occult; the thin edge of the wedge is all it takes to become infected. It is as fascinating to man as a snake hypnotising its victim.

Lecture over, I have shared what I know to be a fact, I will say no more other than to repeat repentance is the way forward and know 1John1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Thank you for your strong stand against anything impure, EI. I think Billy and I agree that we should be discerning when confronting evil.

But, I would differ from your position in that we have to be informed. I cease to be a credible witness if I don't know what I'm talking about, nor can I make a connection with someone who's fluent in a certain subject, like Harry Potter. Not that I sign onto being a warlock, mind you, but at least read up enough to know what the enemy is.

You're right, books like Harry Potter aren't for mass consumption. The high numbers the Church of Satan bragged about that joined due to reading the books is proof.

My, that was a gentle retort; I am more used to the other kind from Christians (rarely from the world).

I can’t help wondering if you spoke to the lady in the toy shop about her purchase by gently cautioning her? The worst they will do is swear while telling you to beep (go away). I comfort myself that ‘whether they hear, or refuse to hear’ and stone me with words, I have introduced a doubt into their minds that The Holy Spirit may work on at a later date. A 'little leaven' in reverse!

Quoting myself"…so I agree certain teachers do need to gain a degree of this knowledge…"

Please pray about the content of the blog where, in this instance, it does appear too much is said in public. Although I do commend you for bringing this unpleasant subject to the fore as a warning to others.EI

billyi agree with your position TO AN EXTENT where i disagree is "it wont make on iaota a difference" to some it will. other than that, enjoy the movies or books unless you`re a "weaker brother" who is succeptable. for the most part i agree with you.

Churches preach a lot on "being harmless as doves" and I've yet to hear one on "be ye wise as serpents", [ie. keeping up on what the enemy is doing]… No wonder we have so many sheeple that can't tell their right from their left!I too have to wade thru a lot of muck to stay abreast of things in the world & sadly a lot of pastors & elders will get disturbed 'cause they seem to want to stay clueless…Tolkien was contemporary with, and a good friend of Lewis, but I think he was just a "good" church goer…

After I posted the "it DOES NOT matter the environment one grows up in." and the …"it wont make on iaota a difference" I knew I'd overstated it – but that how it goes. You type, read, re-read, sometimes re-re-read, but then you finally have to just hit that Publish Your Comments and go with it. At any rate, sometimes our comments while not a completely accuate representation of what we meant to say usually lead to quite interesting conversation.

I appreciate the comments so much… a good discussion. I want you to know that because of this, I had the nerve to send the links from you guys on the yoga to my two Christian friends and ask them to read them and understand what they were participating in before they encouraged others to do the same. So far, one has thanked me and said she had no clue. She even looked into one other one and learned she didn't want to go there either. Sometimes we don't take the time to research what we are doing and think about it in light of the scriptures. In commenting on one point, if you think you are the weaker brother to defend your position, I would question that. I see the weaker as new Christians and those that have not had much teaching yet. Everyone had great points and it is a spiritual battle that is waged over these subjects. I pray we will be sensitive to what the Lord directs us in and not be deaf to His still small voice when He speaks. When we all get to heaven, I hope we meet to share a conversation and thanks for the encouragement we all do for each other to live a Godly life.

I agree with El! It's not my strong suit to express my thoughts in the most understandable way so I appreciate it when others can 🙂

One thing that popped into my mind Nathan, when you said we have to be informed, was, does that mean it's okay to watch porn so that we know what others are watching and how to address it? When do we draw the line and how, as people with very varying personalities and opinions, decided as Christians, what things are okay to dabble in for pleasure, what things to dabble in for "knowledge" and what things to stay clear from? For me, Phil. 4:8 has always been in my mind when questioning myself about things like this.

Anyway, I do want to state how much I'm enjoying this conversation and the blog in general! It's great to hear all points of view from brothers and sisters in Christ!

The Frog-Disney comment reminded me about the comparison that someone made. If you dropped a frog in boiling water it would just jump right back out and fast.. but if you put it in cold water and warm it up slowly, it will stay there getting used to the water and end up boiling. No wonder the Bible says what it does about lukewarm… it doesn't lead to the best in us or for us. Beware of the innocent trappings that draw you in.

Great conversation everyone.. thank you for keeping us on our toes. Jesus is coming soon and the whole point of us studying prophecy is to remind us to live a expectant life ready AT ANY TIME to meet Jesus in the clouds AND TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS AS WE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.

Amen C in Salem. Thanks for the glorious encouragement of the imminency of our Lord's soon return.

Ten years ago, when I was caring for my eldest grandson, he was four and I bought him the video "Wind in the Willows" it was lovely and innocent. Then I saw Josh's big blue eyes looking at me so troubled. I soon realised he was watching about wraiths, Pan and the old Brit god the 'Green Man'. Even at that age he knew it was wrong. All I could do was my best to explain why it was wrong and pray with him.

Sigh! He is 5'10" now,still growing, still loves Jesus and still hugs and kisses me and his grandad. He wants to be in the Police! 🙁

Donald…I had a discussion about that movie with some friends. When we heard a new princess movie was coming out (this was about a year before it was released), we were excited. We've only taken the kids to 1-2 movies (Charlotte's Web and Horton Hears a Who). When it got closer to the release date, we watched a trailer and I was not comfortable at all with the voodoo, demonic looking shadows, etc. I was a little worried my husband would think I was being too hard on the movie, but when I talked to him about my concerns, he couldn't agree more with me and we decided we would skip that movie. There aren't many movies out that are really kid friendly these days (at the theaters at least), so it was a bummer to see a chance escape us for a little outing.

Anyway, during a conversation, some friends really tried to make us, that chose to avoid the movie, feel bad. They said that it's just a classic tale of good vs. evil and that is was no different then other fairy tails, such as, the fairy godmother in Cinderella…that there was magic in most Disney movies. But the difference to me was that in The Princess and the Frog, it was voodoo and one of the "good guys" was also a witch doctor. So it was creating sympathy and goodwill towards this good guy even though they were neck deep in dark magic. To me, there's a big difference between that and a friendly, fairy godmother. Besides, I told them, it's easy to explain to your kids that fairy godmother's don't exist, but it's a whole other can of worms when getting into voodoo. I don't believe in sheltering our children, but 3-7 year olds at a Disney movie is not the way to break them gently into the a conversation about voodoo…at least in my opinion.

We really have to be careful in our own lives what we see and do and even more so for our children! We live in a culture that is very desensitized to violence, sex, magic, and many other topics. I really noticed in the last years, Hollywood likes to make questionable people the heroes of movies…like killers, prostitutes, bad cops, etc.

I've been away for a few days, but I just to point out that Satan uses things like the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I'm a huge fan of Tolkein and his hobbits, just to set the story straight.

I've never read any of the Potter books, but I remember reading somewhere a few years back that kids [I'm guessing unsaved or unchurched] who were reading the Harry Potter books SPECIFICALLY (LOTR wasn't mentioned that I remember and neither was Narnia. Maybe too many Jesus references?) were getting very interested in witchcraft.

I think when someone tries to make you feel wrong for NOT allowing your kids to see it is because it quietly challenges their own judgement and makes them feel uncomfortable. That is when they push back to shove those feelings off onto you. Why else would they even care or comment?

I remember when I was a young teen in the early 1980's some of my classmates were playing with the Ouija board. Some older students took it to another level and had some scary experiences. As the story went the ouija board told one student to lie down on a flat gravestone. The student mumbled some strange words that apparently went on for quite a few minutes. The other students observed that their classmate was actually possessed by a demon. When the student "came out of it" he was spooked for months and never went back to the evil thing. This was their story. I believe that it was an evil encounter with the occult that took place. Stay away from all such practices and cling to what is good, the Word of God.Amen

Follow Us

Get the App

About Ministry

Lamb & Lion Ministries was established for the purpose of proclaiming the soon return of Jesus. We do not believe it is possible to know the date when Jesus will return. But we do believe it is possible to know the season of the Lord's return, and it is our conviction that we are living in that season...